Request for suggestions on how to efficiently replicate a test environment in production

Question

Question

Good morning everyone,
In the facility we're working in, we have two separate installations for testing and production. In the test environment, we have production processes running properly, and we need to replicate production processes and settings in the production environment. Until now, when we move from a test environment to a production environment, we currently export the test classes, import them into production, and manually configure the production environment by connecting Services, Processes, and Operations and configuring the settings. We tried exporting the production environment from the portal to import it into production, but we couldn't find the import functionality. So, we were wondering if there was a more efficient and faster way to move a production environment with all its settings from one environment to the other than what we're currently doing.

Thanks everyone in advance,

Elisa

Product version: IRIS 2024.2

Discussion (2)2

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score 0 · Answer 1 · 2025-07-17T09:53:22-04:00

To replicate production processes and settings from a test environment to a production environment efficiently:

Export and Import Production Definitions:
- Use the Management Portal to export the XML definition of the production from the test environment.
- Import and compile the XML definition in the production environment. This ensures all necessary components and configurations are transferred.
- Steps involved:
  - Ensure the test environment closely resembles the production environment.
  - The deployment process includes exporting, testing deployment on a test system, and then importing to live production. Importing involves loading the XML to the system, compiling, and enabling the production [1].
System Defaults for Environment Specificity:
- Leverage System Defaults to define environment-specific settings. This prevents the need to update settings manually for the production environment and allows the same production class to work in multiple environments without risk of incorrect configuration [2].
Automated Deployment with Interoperability Features:
- For updates, you can use the "Deploy Changes" feature in the Management Portal, which automates export, import, and compilation steps. It also manages enabling and disabling of components, along with rollback in case of errors [1].
Use of Source Control:
- Manage production definitions in source control to track changes systematically across environments. This can help synchronize configurations and prevent errors during manual adjustments [3].

Using these methods ensures a systematic and secure way to replicate and manage production environments effectively [1][2][3].

Sources:

1.Deploying a Production | Developing Productions | InterSystems IRIS Data Platform 2025.1

2.Production settings

3.Source control and the production class

score 0 · Answer 2 · 2025-07-17T12:04:08-04:00

If you're looking for moving individual productions, guidance like the AI bot provided might be what you need. For larger migration style events I would suggest looking at the documented migration guide, from which you can pick and choose the settings / steps that pertain to what you are looking to sync.